What Are Feral Cats?
What Can You Do For Ferals?
Socializing Feral Kittens and Cats
Official Position Statements on Ferals

The Forgotten Ferals

© 2003 Laurie Goldstein www.StrayPetAdvocacy.org

Feral animals are the forgotten ones.  They were not abandoned, their parents or grandparents probably were or they are the offspring of unsterilized pets or barn cats whose owners did not take responsibility for them. They were born in the wild and they do not trust humans. If they have had any interaction with humans, it is more often than not negative interaction and they are now afraid of us.

You will note in this section that the bulk of the material relates to feral cats as opposed to feral dogs. Outside of the U.S., many dogs seem to survive in the wild, however, in the U.S., most dogs do not have the resources at their disposal that they need to survive. Cats do - and if not spayed or neutered, cats reproduce rapidly.

In this section, we include information on just what a feral animal is and how these animals differ from strays. Included is information on how feral cat colonies are formed, and why they are everybody's problem.

Please note that many people, books, shelters and web sites do not promote the "adoption" of feral cats, or take the position that only feral kittens of a very young age make good pets. We at Stray Pet Advocacy hold a different opinion. We have personal experience socializing ferals of differing ages, and have worked with others who have turned feral cats as old as four years old into wonderful and loving pets. Given the right circumstances, a home where the owner understands ferals, or with a resource the new owner can turn to for guidance and advice from people with such experience, the older cats are able to be socialized and find wonderful homes. It is definitely more of a challenge to socialize an older cat; there is essentially a ratio between the age of the cat and the level of trust that can be developed.  Anyone wanting to tackle the job must have time and unlimited patience, but any cat under 4 years old can be reached, and a bond of love and trust can be achieved, if you know what you are doing.

Articles and Links - updated Feb 2010

What Are Feral Cats?

 

"The Many Differences between Feral and Tame Cats" by Lana. Adapted by www.StrayPetAdvocacy.org ©2003.  This article describes the many differences between feral and tame cat behavior, the reasons behind it, and the differences in the health characteristics of feral vs. tame cats.  Click here for a printable PDF version of this article.  You must have Adobe Acrobat/Reader 5.0 or higher to view this file.
 

"What is a Feral Cat?" ©2002 www.neighborhoodcats.org,New York City's feral cat resource site.  If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser: http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/HOW_TO_WHAT_IS_FERAL_CAT
 

What Are Feral Cats? © 2000-2003 Metro Animal Resource Services, Inc.  Explains the difference between feral cats, stray cats and alley cats. If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser: http://www.metroanimal.org/feral/main.html
 

Why Are There Feral Cats?" (Click on the Feral Cats in the Community link) © 2002-2003 Metro Animal Resource Services, Inc. Feral cats are not a "cat" problem, they're a people problem! (Scroll down past "What Are Feral Cats") If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser: http://www.metroanimal.org/feral/main.html#community
 

"Myths and Facts about Feral Cats" © 2000-2003 Metro Animal Resource Services, Inc.  This easy-to-use chart dispels many myths about the "dangers" feral cats present to humans. (Scroll down about 3/4 of the page) If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser: http://www.metroanimal.org/feral/main.html#myths_facts
 

"By Feral, do you mean wild?" An article by Jeri Dopp of www.safehavenforcats.com with a description of how feral colonies get started (and how we can help prevent them!) If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser:    http://www.safehavenforcats.com/colonies.htm

What is a feral cat or dog? A feral animal "has lived his entire life outside, fending for himself, fighting tooth and claw for food and survival." From the Feral Colonies forum of The Cat Site, a discussion of feral cats. If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser:     http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?s-&threadid=16760
 

Feral or Domestic - That Is The Question From the articles of Cat Action Trust 1977, discusses the differences and similarities between feral and domestic cats.  If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser:  http://www.cat77.org.uk/articles/feral.htm 10/3
 

Feral Cats In The News Keep track of feral cat news stories from around the US. Updated daily! If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser: http://catsinthenews.blogspot.com/ 10/13
 

Roadkills of cats fall 90% in 10 years--are feral cats on their way out? November 2003.  Animal People's annual report on the current data from which feral and freeroaming cat population is derived shows new figures that could indicate the decline of the previously assumed population of feral cats.  If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser: http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/03/11/roadkills1103.html 1/25/04
 

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What Can You Do for Ferals?

 

"Stray Cats - Not just somebody else's problem." An article by Sarah Hartwell ©1995, featured on www.messybeast.com. If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser:     http://www.messybeast.com/notmyprob.htm
 

"Compassion is the Way: Care and Feeding of Feral Cats" This 19-page manual, by Nathan Winograd of Tompkins County SPCA, walks you through how to start a program to help feral cats in your community. If you have trouble with this link, please copy and paste this web address into your browser:  http://www.bestfriends.org/nomorehomelesspets/pdf/feralcatcompassion.pdf 10/21
 

Community Approaches to Feral Cats: Problems, Alternatives and Recommendations by Margaret R. Slater, 2002, Humane Society of the US (HSUS)  "Veterinarian Margaret R. Slater offers a comprehensive, compassionate review of the issues surrounding feral cats and a variety of solutions to feral cat problems in communities large and small. She also provides a blueprint to veterinarians, feral cat caretakers, animal shelters, and public agencies for finding common ground in their approach to feral cats."
Order softcover book or scroll down the page to download full text of book at: http://www.hsus.org/ace/14631 1/11/04
 

The Cat Debate:  Synopsis article of discussions regarding feral cats and TNR programs at the November 2003 AVMA Animal Welfare Forum. If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser: http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jan04/040115a.asp 2/27/04
 

Feral Cats - The Invisible Felines by Anne Moss  "Feral cats are just that, they are cats. They are domestic cats gone feral, biologically identical to their pet brethren (those pampered felines that share our lives). Feral cats have the same emotional and mental capabilities and needs, even if they have grown away from human companionship. Feral cats are not wild animals." If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser: http://www.thecatsite.com/Snips/194/Feral-Cats-The-Invisible-Felines.html 10-24-04
 

Handling Feral Cats by Mary Anne Miller "So you have a wild, trapped kitty....What now?" An expert's explanation on how to socialize feral cats to indoor housecats. While they may never be lap cats, socialized ferals can be a very special part of a household if you have enough patience to work with them. If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser: http://www.thecatsite.com/Care/27/Handling-Feral-Cats.html 10-24-04
 

American Cat Project:  The Problem of Feral Cat Management.  This group has the achievable goal of "Significantly Fewer Feral Cats in the United States in Twenty Years."  This document takes a look at the problem and reasons why one solution does not fit all situations.  If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser: http://www.americancat.net/feralproblem.html 04/16/06
 

San Francisco SPCA Factsheets: Feral Cat Medical Issues; Humanely Trapping Feral Cats; The Care & Feeding of Feral Cats; Feral Cat Relocation   If you have trouble with the above links, please copy and paste these web addresses directly into your browser: http://www.sfspca.org/gifs/pdf_factsheets/Medissues.pdf; http://www.sfspca.org/gifs/pdf_factsheets/Humane.pdf; http://www.sfspca.org/gifs/pdf_factsheets/Care.pdf; http://www.sfspca.org/gifs/pdf_factsheets/relocation.pdf 04/16/06
 

Three part article on Feral Cats, including What Are Ferals and Classification of Ferals; Socialization of Feral Kittens; What You Can Do for Ferals. If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser: http://cats.about.com/library/guest/ucfeature4a.htm 04/16/06

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Socializing Feral Kittens and Cats

 

If you are interested in socializing feral kittens or cats, please visit The Cat Site's Feral Colonies Forum.

Socializing a Feral Cat. This comprehensive article takes you through preparations before bringing a feral cat into your home, all the way through to the first petting and what you can expect from your new feral family member. For a printable version, please see the PDF version.  12/04/05
 

  Taming Feral Kittens and Cats by Sarah Hartwell This information was originally prepared for Cats Protection and Feline Advisory Bureau and draws together the experience and expertise of many feral tamers working for these organisations and information received from a number of non-profit organisations specialising purely in feral cats and kittens. The contributors have many hundreds of hours experience and can be considered experts in the field of feral kitten taming. If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser: http://www.messybeast.com/feralkit.htm 04/16/06
 

Island Cat Resources and Adoption:  Kitten Socializing Lessons Learned by Mary Sper  If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser: http://www.icraeastbay.org/ICRAKittenSocializing.pdf 04/16/06

Official Position Statements on Feral Cats

 

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Position on Abandoned and Feral Cats If you have trouble with this link, please  copy and paste this web address into your browser:  http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/animal_welfare/feral_cats.asp
 

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Statement on Free-Roaming Cats  "The Humane Society of the United States believes that every community has a legal and ethical responsibility to address problems associated with free-roaming domestic cats."  If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/feral_cats/
 

American Association of Feline Practitioners Position Statement on Free Roaming Abandoned and Feral Cats.  "The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) encourages and supports actions to provide solutions to the problems associated with free-roaming abandoned and feral cats. These problems include quality of life issues for the cats themselves, their impact on wildlife, and their potential impact on public health." (The last position statement listed on the page.)  If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser: http://www.catvets.com/professionals/guidelines/position/index.aspx?ID=332
 

American Humane position statement on Feral Cats.  "Recognizing that this population is large, American Humane strongly supports policies and programs that work to reduce the overpopulation and abandonment of cats in a humane manner."  If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser:  http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/who-we-are/position-statements/
 

Cat Fanciers Association, Inc. position on feral cats.  "CFA advocates the humane treatment of all cats including those which are unowned and are considered to be feral. We support the concept of maintained colonies of unowned/feral cats on public or private property as a viable means to protect these cats and stabilize their populations."   If you have trouble with the above link, please copy and paste this web address directly into your browser:  http://www.cfainc.org/articles/feral-cats.html 1/29/05

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